Honestly: MMS?

[TonyHoyle]

Can't see it happening though, it's like asking for a floppy drive on a Mac. Apple have killed it off so it's time everyone dragged themselves into the 21st century... it's for the greater good

It was Writable CD (and ultimately USB sticks) that killed floppy, not Apple - in fact they tried to extend its use by shipping LS120s in macs for a while (which failed so dismally most people don't even remember what they were).

Maybe MMS will die, but it won't happen before the majority of phones have reasonable email clients.. and there's a standard way of emailing a mobile phone directly rather than requiring a separate address (which shouldn't be *that* hard for the providers to setup if they thought about it). To stop supporting it before there's a replacement is madness.

There's also things like reverse charging that email doesn't support - ringtone sellers like jamster make their money on these things.. and aren't going to start sending ringtones over email. The infrastructure for charging needs to be in place. 10p per email or something with the standard £5 premium rate email stuff.

 

[koobcamuk]

SMS and Email have a totally different use.

Research more on Japanese use of email on phones and come back to me with a different answer (if you can be bothered).

Our networks are set in their ways, as is Japan's. The way they do things is so much better.

Anyway, MMS is dead. People use facebook to share photos. I wouldn't want to try to guess what a photo is of that someone I know took on their camera phone. I have only ever received MMS from girls a few years ago... back when I was single...

I could not care less (what's with people using this incorrectly?).

 

[Bernie Steak]

I can only think of one genuinely worthwhile MMS I've ever received over the years, a picture message from a friend from hospital of her new born baby.

Other than that, they tend to be just general guff.

SMS is different, I've had many important text messages over the years, but MMS tends to be used for junk.

 

[koobcamuk]

I can only think of one genuinely worthwhile MMS I've ever received over the years, a picture message from a friend from hospital of her new born baby.

Other than that, they tend to be just general guff.

SMS is different, I've had many important text messages over the years, but MMS tends to be used for junk.

Agreed.

 

[TonyHoyle]

Research more on Japanese use of email on phones and come back to me with a different answer (if you can be bothered).

I'm not japanese. I don't see why it's relevant. So they don't mind messages that take 2 hours to arrive and filtering through mountains of spam on their phones. I do.

I don't even use email on the iphone. I have imapidle set to tell me when a new one arrives, then I fire up the PC to view it. Even though the iphone is the best imap email client I've seen on a phone it's still a pain to use compared to a proper client (also it doesn't let me attach documents, doesn't let me attach anything in fact...)

 

[koobcamuk]

I'm not japanese. I don't see why it's relevant. So they don't mind messages that take 2 hours to arrive and filtering through mountains of spam on their phones. I do.

They do not get spam and the messages are instant but have a 1000 character limit. Essentially, all the networks there offer push email (easiest way to explain).

I don't even use email on the iphone. I have imapidle set to tell me when a new one arrives, then I fire up the PC to view it. Even though the iphone is the best imap email client I've seen on a phone it's still a pain to use compared to a proper client (also it doesn't let me attach documents, doesn't let me attach anything in fact...)

What attachments do you need to regularly send? I think this facility will come.

I prefer emailing on it to my mac - and even though it only checks every 15 minutes, it has revolutionised the way I use my mobile. I didn't want a blackberry. This thing is great.

 

[TonyHoyle]

They do not get spam and the messages are instant but have a 1000 character limit. Essentially, all the networks there offer push email (easiest way to explain).

So they've built an instant messaging system on top of email. That'd work and was what I was talking about when I mentioned being able to email a phone directly rather than going through a separate account.

That takes infrastructure... which takes money. Can't see it happening in a hurry, especially when so few phones support email at all.

What attachments do you need to regularly send? I think this facility will come.

I prefer emailing on it to my mac - and even though it only checks every 15 minutes, it has revolutionised the way I use my mobile. I didn't want a blackberry. This thing is great.

Lots of word documents, screen shots, etc.

Also a lot of copy/paste of URLs especially for bugs etc.

iphone can't really handle that right now.

My email tends to be business related.. all the personal stuff goes over SMS, so I'm maybe not the typical email user (or maybe I am.. never taken a survey to find out).

 

[ascender]

Most people I know who have a mobile phone in the UK know how to use MMS and do so regularly.

Most people I know who have a mobile phone do not have email configured on it.

Here in the UK, MMS is a very popular feature on phones, simple as that. The beauty of it being that its so simple. Both my parents and parents-in-law use MMS to send pics back and forth because its quick and easy.

I know its easy for people to say that MMS is rubbish or who cares, but in the UK, there's a huge user base of people who use is on a daily basis. We're in the minority on this forum in terms of seeing the benefits of email over MMS. I guarantee you that the majority of UK phone users wouldn't see it that way.

Of course, there's the argument that the iPhone will make email more accessible and easier to use form the mobile phone, but again, its a minority product at the moment.

 

[Honest Truth]

This would be a feature like all the others, it would be optional, and you don't HAVE to have it. Apple should make it just because it makes up normal phone standers now. I wouldn't even think that they would need a majority of people to make this feature.

 

[ucfgrad93]

Would be nice, however, for me its not a big deal.

 

[TonyHoyle]

Just to put some statistics on it, in December 06 30 million MMS messages were send in the UK vs. 3.8 billion for the same period for SMS.. so MMS isn't a majority thing but a *lot* are sent (if they've followed the same pattern we're at 4.8 billion a month for SMS now they're probably at about 40 million MMS a month now).

source:
http://www.text.it/picturemessaging/press_releases.cfm
http://www.text.it/mediacentre/pres...icationID=A526E6EF-ADD4-B789-2D52B1BF243C89E3
http://www.text.it/mediacentre/pres...icationID=0F3FA21C-15C5-F4C0-99335F38D7517452

 

[Piarco]

UK: wake up and embrace e-mail

Not that easy... unless everyone goes out an buys an email enabled phone tomorrow (and is able to use it!!)

I agree to a point. However, if most people have ordinary bog standard mobile phones, emailing something to them is pretty pointless.

The whole idea with MMS is that you can send a picture to somebody's phone and they can access it without having to log into an email account which will most probably require a computer for most mobile phone users.

I hardly ever use MMS messaging and it's not essential but it is useful occasionally.

Agreed #1

Yes MMS is needed in the UK as most of my friends and family have phones which are not email enabled.

Agreed #2

For years I never used MMS, but in the last 2, I've been using it a fair bit. Some of which could definitely go to someone's email, and they can pic it up whenever they get around to it, but some of which is more spur-of-the-moment quick hit fun. I'm not missing MMS so much yet, but I can forsee situations when I will.
If everyone had email enabled phones, then there wouldn't be a need for either SMS or MMS, but as a good 99% of phones out there aren't then why not have MMS?

 

[Maui19]

I used to think MMS was stupid, until my family started using it. It is a great way to share things with family members and buddies. There is true to the saying that a picture is worth 10,000 words. Out of everyone in my family and all my close friends, only 1 person accesses their email regularly on their phone. MMS is instantaneous communication that gives me a lot of options and is one of the features I enjoy most with a phone.

I realize some people may not have a use for it. But to say it is worthless and stupid for everyone is simply not true.

 

[emotion]

There is true to the saying that a picture is worth 10,000 words.

The saying is a 1000. Pictures are not that good.

I think direct to stuff like Facebook/Picasa/.Mac/etc is the way this is all heading. I don't care what grandmothers/normal punters are using they're just 3 years behind the nerds. The nerds are moving to email/Facebook etc etc.

Now that the phone networks have finally accepted that flat rate data access is what we all wanted all along the floodgates are open for proper mobie communication devices. This is like when people moved to broadband from dialup.

However there is a wider debate about the quality of that network data access but that is not what this thread is discussing.

 

[psycho bob]

I don't see the reasoning behind saying that MMS is dead and should be killed off and Apple are some how pioneering this.

In the US and Japan, maybe Asia in general, MMS is a non starter in europe however it is more than popular enough to support and even if it only proved useful a few times a year for some individuals. I've used it to send maps and pictures to help people as well as share events with friends. Now the argument that email is a replacement for this now is rubbish.

I don't know of anybody in my circle of friends, certainly those not in business, that have an email facility on there phone. Until consumer handsets catch up and offer usable email and free data this topic is a none starter for me. MMS should be included on the iPhone.

The majority of users in europe who have email enabled phones are those in business, the problem here is that the carriers and Apple in their wisdom have not made the iPhone available to business customers. So you have a high end phone that can only be utilised by individuals and not corporations. This surprises me when everything Apple do is about sharing and bringing people together.

If Apple really want to break through then they need to provide a phone that literally is all things to all men. Once it is established they ca choose to be selective. A number of features that are lacking from the iPhone (number of characters used in text messages, group texts, lack of IM client, MMS, bluetooth sharing and a disk mode) do show Apple's inexperience in this field.

If they stop faffing around with point updates and actually add some obvious and useful features sales will really pick up. Right now it is neither the most feature packed consumer phone or a true high end smart phone for business.

What is in the iPhone is great but it is a very american mobile in a lot of ways and needs to incorporate more continental features.

 

[mavis]

Soon everyone will use email not SMS. Japan have done this for years.

I wish people would stop spreading this FUD.

I have lived in Japan for five years, in that time I have owned seven phones (yeah, yeah, I know it's a lot) and have only seen ONE that supports IMAP/POP3 ... Japanese phones have email addresses but they cannot access email accounts. PERIOD. It's all, 100%, completely, 24/7, all the time: SMS and MMS.

In other words, relax. If Apple has any intentions of selling more than three iPhones in Japan, they will HAVE to support MMS. In other words, it is coming. It's not a question of if, but when.

 

[SpankWare]

I was a heavy MMS user and would love to see MMS on the iPhone for compatibility purposes with everybody else on the planet. My primary concern was for MMS with my wife but at this point she's demanding an iPhone so it may be a moot point.

 

[BulkHedd]

If Apple/Yahoo can work out the kinks in the push e-mail (or if someone else starts offering it) then I think e-mail will work out better than SMS/MMS. As it is right now the Yahoo push is too unreliable and the shortest time you can set the iPhone to check other mail accounts is 15 minutes. Also, that 2MP camera doesn't do you much good when you e-mail a picture since it shrinks it to 640x480.

The other issue I see is that a lot of people I know have tons of SMS/MMS messages on their plan (non-iPhone) but little or no data. If I'm not mistaken e-mail uses data, not messages, so they are reluctant to use it.

I have never been a heavy MMS user but it would be nice to have it. People are always shocked to hear that the iPhone doesn't support it. It's become pretty much a standard feature on all other phones.

 

[nomad01]

Years ago, you could email O2 phones by adressing an email to something like +44<mobilenumber>@o2.mms.co.uk.

Wonder if any other providers offer this and would accept picture attachments?

Just a thought. Not a solution but a useful option if it worked! Probably not.

 

[TonyHoyle]

Years ago, you could email O2 phones by adressing an email to something like +44<mobilenumber>@o2.mms.co.uk.

Wonder if any other providers offer this and would accept picture attachments?

Just a thought. Not a solution but a useful option if it worked! Probably not.

If that kind of thing still works, then the iphone could be configured to automatically translate an email to <number> to the correct format @o2.mms.co.uk and it would become useful.

Doesn't work the other way around though, which is an issue with that kind of workaround... so if they're going to do that they might as well stick a proper client in.

 

[Devil's Refugee]

MMS Settings.....for those who REALLY are desperate....

Source: O2 Customer Forum


Using iPhone's email picture function, you can still get your photos over to your friends' phones by emailing it to their phone. This does not require that the destination phone has email support. By emailing your picture to their phone and not their email, they'll receive it like a normal MMS message, provided they have MMS support on their phone.

Here's how to do it:

1) open a photo on your iPhone
2) click on the send photo link (bottom left hand icon)
3) select to email the photo
4) using the table below, enter the phone number of the person you want to send to, followed by the email prefix for their provider

Service Provider MMS Email Prefix

o2 mmsc.mms.o2.co.uk
So, for instance, if you wanted to send an email to a o2 user who's number was 447872556558, you'd send to 447872556558@mmsc.mms.o2.co.uk

UK MMS Settings

Below are the MMS picture messaging settings for the main UK network operators:

o2 MMS settings
Access point name: wap.o2.co.uk (contract customers) or payandgo.o2.co.uk (pay-as-you-go customers)
Username: o2wap (contract customers) or payandgo (pay-as-you-go customers)
Password: password
Authentication: Normal
Data bearer: GPRS
Gateway IP (proxy) address: 193.113.200.195
Session mode: Permanent
Port number: 8080 or 9201
URL address: http://mmsc.mms.o2.co.uk:8002

Vodafone MMS settings

Access Point Name: wap.vodafone.co.uk
Username: wap
Password: wap
Authentication: Normal
Data bearer: GPRS
Gateway IP (proxy) address: 212.183.137.012
Session mode: Permanent
MMS Message (Relay) Server URL: http://mms.vodafone.co.uk/servlets/mms/

T-Mobile MMS settings

Access Point Name: general.t-mobile.uk
Username: user
Password: one2one
Authentication: Normal
Data bearer: GPRS
Gateway IP (proxy) address: 149.254.211.10 (also 149.254.201.135)
Session mode: Permanent
MMS Message (Relay) Server URL: http://mmsc.t-mobile.co.uk:8002/

Orange MMS settings

Note: Orange must enable MMS for your account. Contact Orange Customer Services

Access Point Name: orangemms
Username: Orange
Password: Multimedia
Authentication: Normal
Data bearer: GPRS
Gateway IP (proxy) address: 192.168.224.10
Port: 9201 (some users have reported 8080 works if 9201 doesn't)
Session mode: Permanent
MMS Message (Relay) Server URL http://mms.orange.co.uk/

Virgin MMS settings

Note: Virgin must enable MMS for your account. Contact Virgin Customer Services

Access Point Name: goto.virginmobile.uk
Username: user
Password: (leave blank)
Authentication: Normal
Data bearer: GPRS
Gateway IP (proxy) address: 193.030.166.001
Port: 8080
Session mode: Permanent
MMS Message (Relay) Server URL http://mms.virginmobile.co.uk:8002

Tesco Mobile MMS settings

Access point name: prepay.tesco-mobile.com
Username: tescowap
Password: password
Authentication: Normal
Data bearer: GPRS
Gateway IP address: 193.113.200.195
Session mode: Permanent
URL address: http://mmsc.mms.o2.co.uk:8002

BT Mobile MMS settings

Access point name: mobile.bt.uk
Username: user
Password: btmms
Authentication: Normal
Data bearer: GPRS
Gateway IP address: 62.239.21.123
Session mode: Permanent
URL address: http://mmsc.btmms.co.uk:8002

 

[rriggs]

MMS is the ONLY new functionality I care about.

All my friends all send each other MMSs all day long and everyone is laughing and having fun and I'm always left out.

 

[djellison]

Is there REALLY (and i underline really as in you're going to die without MMS soon) a need for MMS on the iPhone?

Am I going to die without MMS? No.

Am I going to spend £246 + a disgusting contract on a phone that can't do MMS? No - I'll pay £80 for a PAYG phone that can.

It's not a deal breaker - it's one of about 6 deal breakers in the way before I consider an iPhone.

Doug

 

[killerrobot]

I prefer emailing on it to my mac - and even though it only checks every 15 minutes, it has revolutionised the way I use my mobile. I didn't want a blackberry. This thing is great.

Doesn't emailing it to your mac defeat the whole purpose of having a multi-media phone? Is that how it revolutionized the way you use your mobile -you have to use a computer to open the attachments?

Sounds to me like MMS would be very helpful to you.

 

[deniser]

I'm in the UK and rarely use MMS. It was a novelty I grew out of. If we needed to exchange pics we'd bluetooth. So I'd rather see an improvement in bluetooth file sharing myself.

I love wifi on a phone and much prefer it to GPRS or 3g. In recent years I have always made sure my phones were capable of wifi and always prefer to connect over wifi to the internet.

I was in town today and live in a fairly rural area but managed to connect to a cloud hotspot to check my emails.

Nah ta not bothered about MMS rather send pictures via email